What is tracking code?

What is tracking code?

Tracking code is a small piece of JavaScript that is placed your web pages. It usually sends an image request to your analytics vendor. From there the vendor gathers the information it’s been sent and calculates metrics that are then presented in a reporting interface for you, the user, to digest and analyze.

Most analytics tools require some sort of implementation which usually means placing the code into the HTML of your pages. This is eased by the use of Content Management Systems that enables you to place a piece of code once and it appears on all your pages as a result. You then need to dynamically populate this code with values/variables that are unique to the individual page. As page is the definable unit of content “page name” is the most common unique identifier for your web site’s content.

The tools vary but most will give you basic metrics without too much technical know-how. So following on from the last article and trying to get an understanding of your downloads provided you have the basic code on your downloads page you should then be able to monitor successfully the actual start of the download. You can tie this to a specific event that then enables you to get more details on the user before and after the download, for example where they came from to find the download link in the first place.

Code in place, you can then use a reporting interface to see how you are performing. There you have it. A simple introduction to tracking code.